# Vintage Porto Deal--Good, Great, or Once in a Lifetime



## tpharkman (Feb 20, 2010)

I am on an overnight in a place I don't get to very often. Found a liquor store who apparently had just taken some high end inventory off of a distributor looking to unload the high dollar specific taste selections. Long story short: Fonseca Vintage Porto 1985 for $19.99 a bottle and a Sandemans Vau Vintage 2000 Vintage Porto for $13.99. I would bet you can't buy a glass of either of these at a restaurant for less than he is asking for these bottles.

Please let me know if yall think this is a good deal.


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## JGD (Mar 2, 2009)

The Fonseca Vintage Porto 1985 looks like an amazing deal. 

PM sent.


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## cheese (Dec 26, 2009)

tpharkman said:


> I am on an overnight in a place I don't get to very often. Found a liquor store who apparently had just taken some high end inventory off of a distributor looking to unload the high dollar specific taste selections. Long story short: Fonseca Vintage Porto 1985 for $19.99 a bottle and a Sandemans Vau Vintage 2000 Vintage Porto for $13.99. I would bet you can't buy a glass of either of these at a restaurant for less than he is asking for these bottles.
> 
> Please let me know if yall think this is a good deal.


The Sandeman is a decent port and a bargain at that price. I would take 4 or 5 bottles of the Fonseca at that price if given the chance, provided it has been kept under reasonable conditions.


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## cheese (Dec 26, 2009)

The Fonseca is a $70.00 bottle, BTW. Possibly as much as $90.00 so grab at least a bottle.


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## tpharkman (Feb 20, 2010)

I have even seen the Fonseca priced much higher. The thing about any bottle of wine is that there is no guarantee that they were stored in bad, good or ideal conditions. For $19.99 I am rolling the dice and going back in the morning before the sales calls start happening and buying whatever they have left. The half bottle of Stag's Leap Artemis Cab has been beautiful so I gotta believe that the Port will also be fine because they both were sourced by the same distributor.


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## cheese (Dec 26, 2009)

tpharkman said:


> I have even seen the Fonseca priced much higher. The thing about any bottle of wine is that there is no guarantee that they were stored in bad, good or ideal conditions. For $19.99 I am rolling the dice and going back in the morning before the sales calls start happening and buying whatever they have left. The half bottle of Stag's Leap Artemis Cab has been beautiful so I gotta believe that the Port will also be fine because they both were sourced by the same distributor.


Can't wait to hear the results.

The storage need only be reasonable. Most decent wine stores store their bottles on their sides and don't let their stores really get above 80 degrees. On the other hand, if some genius stood a bottle upright and placed it in a nice sunny window display for 20 years, well that would be a different story.


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## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

PM sent as well.


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## tpharkman (Feb 20, 2010)

Went back this morning after my first sales call and bought the remaining four bottles. I just got home after several hours of driving and popped the cork on the first bottle and already gave one away to a new customer before even getting home. After popping the cork there was still some cork residue stuck to the very top inside of the bottle. First sip was unremarkable with little to know flavor. Went to get the decanter and light a cigar and came back and the sucker had already opened up and wow:target::roll:it is really getting good. I am leaving the rest in the decanter for at least the time it takes me to finish my first cigar. 

I looked at some of the other bottles and talked to the owner about the pricing. He basically said that a distributor had been sitting on many high end wine labels thinking they would be more sought after to sell later. Now is later and in these economic times nobody was buying what he was selling so he unloaded them all at this one particular shop. Had cases and cases of Red Diamond Rock Cabernet which retails at $159 to 179 that he had priced at $34.99. Saw a few bottles of Taylor Fladgate Tawny aged 30 years for around $30.00. I didn't walk out of that shop I ran because I almost lost control of myself and would have charged it all. In all my years I have never seen anything like it.


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